5.21.2010

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus - A Review

This past weekend Hubby and I took our two kiddos, ages 2 & 4, to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.... and we had an awesome time! (Does anyone else still say "awesome"??? Ha, well I do.)

Anyway, it was a great show, as always! We started out by getting there an hour before the show and going down to the rings for the all-access Pre-Show.

The Pre-Show is free for everyone! Just head down to the ring as soon as the doors open. You have plenty of time to walk around with lots to see and do.

We got to see some great clown acts, meet the clowns and other performers, take pics, try on actual clown clothes, see some of the animals up close, and my favorite, seeing the guys on stilts dancing around... so much fun! Oh, and I can't forget my daughter's favorite part, the elephant that paints a picture!

Every year the circus has a new show with new acts, so even though we go every year, it's always full of new fun, excitement, and surprises. And even though we had seen this same show earlier this year in Philadelphia, it was still tons of fun. Mostly because there are usually 2-3 acts going on at once with various clowns, performers, acrobats and animals. There's just so much to watch, that you are bound to not see it all.

Oh and that brings me to another great thing about this circus... there is never a dull moment! There is always something going on, even while one act is getting over, another act is starting up in another ring.

Like I've said before, we go every year to see the Ringling Bros. Circus when they are in Philadelphia, PA, as this is the closest venue to us. (We live in South Jersey.)

This year we got a chance to see the show a second time, over at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ. I had never been there before but decided to give it a try. And you know what? This is our new favorite venue!

Yup, even though it is about 40-45 mins from where we live, we would rather take that drive, than go to Philly to see the circus. See, when we travel from NJ to PA for the circus, we have to pay a $4 bridge toll and $15 to park. Yea, $15. Insane.

But the drive to Trenton? So easy, no tolls and it was only $6 to park. So, even factoring in gas, it's much cheaper for us. Oh, and if we go to Philly, we have to factor in the nightmare it is to get out of their venue area. Way too much traffic and congestion just to get out of the parking lot and to the highway.

Also, the Sun National Bank Center is a smaller venue and it was less crowded. You know what that means? Our seats were sooo much closer! But you know what, even if you sat in the back, they are still pretty good seats since it's a smaller venue than others.

Anyway, this has been a long drawn-out review, but ha, what can I say? I'm a rambler.

If I haven't lost you yet, and you're local, maybe you'll want to see one of their shows this weekend! They have another show tonight and a few more on both Saturday and Sunday.

Check out my previous post with their schedule - there you'll also find the great coupon codes I was given for my readers to get discounted circus tickets!